Full text of "OIG-09-21 - Independent Review of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Reporting of FY 2008 Drug Control Performance Summary Report"

See other formats

Department of Homeland Security

Office of Inspector General

Independent Review of the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's
Reporting of FY 2008 Drug Control
Performance Summary Report

OIG-09-21

February 2009

Office of Inspector General

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20528

February 4, 2009

Preface

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was established by
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment to the Inspector General
Act of 1978. This is one of a series of audit, inspection, and special reports prepared as part of our
oversight responsibilities to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness within the department.

This report presents the results of the review of the Performance Summary Report of the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, for the Office of
National Drug Control Policy. We contracted with the independent public accounting firm KPMG
LLP to perform the review. U.S. Customs and Border Protection's management prepared the
Performance Summary Report and management assertions to comply with the requirements of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy Circular, Drug Control Accounting, dated May 1, 2007.
KPMG LLP is responsible for the attached independent accountants' report dated January 23, 2009,
and the conclusions expressed in the report. However, because U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's management reported that they can not assert that the "methodology to establish
performance targets is reasonable and applied," KPMG LLP was unable to complete its review of
management's assertions on the Performance Summary Report. We do not express an opinion on
the Performance Summary Report and management's assertions.

It is our hope that the information in this report will continue to result in effective, efficient, and
economical operations. We express our appreciation to all of those who contributed to the
preparation of this report.

Richard L. Skinner
Inspector General

KPMG LLP

2001 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Independent Accountants' Report

Inspector General

U.S. Department of Homeland Security:

We have reviewed the accompanying Performance Summary Report of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the year ended September
30, 2008. We were also engaged to review the accompanying management's assertions for the
year ended September 30, 2008. CBP's management is responsible to prepare the Performance
Summary Report and assertions to comply with the requirements of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) Circular, Drug Control Accounting, dated May 1, 2007 (ONDCP
Circular).

The ONDCP Circular requires management to make certain assertions related to the accuracy and
completeness of the Performance Summary Report. Management reported that they can not
assert that the "methodology to establish performance targets is reasonable and applied", as
required by the ONDCP Circular.

In accordance with applicable professional standards, without a positive assertion provided by
management we are unable to complete our review of management's assertions on the
Performance Summary Report. Accordingly, our review procedures are limited to the subject
matter of the Performance Summary Report only, and we are unable to provide a report on
management's assertions pursuant to the requirements of the ONDCP Circular.

Our review of the subject matter of the Performance Summary Report was conducted in
accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, and applicable standards contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by
the Comptroller General of the United States. A review is substantially less in scope than an
examination, the objective of which is the expression of an opinion on the Performance Summary
Report. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

Based on our review, nothing came to our attention that caused us to believe that the subject
matter of the Performance Summary Report for the year ended September 30, 2008 is not
presented, in all material respects, in conformity with ONDCP's Circular.

This report is intended solely for the information and use of the management of DHS and CBP,
the Inspector General, the ONDCP, and the U.S. Congress, and is not intended to be and should
not be used by anyone other than these specified parties.

January 23, 2009

KPMG LLP, a U.S. limited liability partnership, is the U.S.
member firm of KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative.

Performance Summary Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
FY 2008

Measure 1: Inspection Narcotics Seizures - Cocaine, in pounds

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

CBP Air and Marine
Office of Border Patrol
Office of Field Operations

130,262
14,819
44,600

196,850
12,338
53,700

101,993
12,885
53,755

188,561
14,242
78,568

129,043
9,268
40,459

CBP TOTAL

189,681

262,888

168,633

281,371

178,770

(1) Performance Measures - CBP plays a key role in the overall anti-drug effort at the
border, due primarily to its statutory authority to regulate the movement of people and
commodities between the U.S. and other nations. Drug interdiction is a priority
undertaking encapsulated by CBP's overall mission to secure the nation's borders and
prevent unlawful entry of dangerous people and goods while facilitating the
legitimate flow of travel and trade. CBP's border and border nexus drug interdiction
activities contribute to the National Drug Control Strategy by disrupting the flow of
drugs into the United States. This performance metric focuses on the amounts of
cocaine seized at and between the ports of entry by Border Patrol agents, Air and
Marine Interdiction agents, and CBP officers from passengers, vehicles, commercial
and private aircraft, vessels, trucks, cargo and railcars entering the United States.

(2) Prior Years Performance Targets and Results - In FY 2008, CBP seized a total of
178,770 pounds of cocaine, which is a 36% decrease from FY 2007. CBP reiterates
its longstanding opposition to setting drug seizure performance targets and believes
that these targets are misleading and counterproductive. CBP, therefore, did not
provide targets for FY 2008 and will not provide drug interdiction targets for FY
2009.

(3) Current Year Performance Targets - One of CBP's Strategic Goals, "Secure our
Nation's borders to protect America from the entry of dangerous people and goods
and prevent unlawful trade and travel" has as its performance objective "Using a
risk-based approach, deploy and employ the most effective inspection and scanning
technology available at designated land border ports, airports, seaports, permanent
Border Patrol traffic checkpoints, and international areas in which CBP operates to
detect and prevent the entry of hazardous materials, goods, and instruments of terror
into the United States." While drug interdiction is a priority mission, CBP does not
set targets or goals for drug interdiction, as this is an unknown risk revealed only
when discovered. In fact, CBP considers a reduction in drug seizures as a positive
indicator of the efficacy of CBP's deterrence efforts on the border. In this sense, CBP
would report 100% success as appropriate action is taken upon discovery.

This operational metrics system has been developed to work with CBP's operational
offices: the Office of Field Operations, the Office of Border Patrol, and the Office of
CBP Air and Marine. The operational awareness metrics identified for the BorderStat
represents the core indicators that will be presented to Senior CBP leadership as
frequently as required to maintain operational awareness. BorderStat seizure data
pulls from the following sources (the Automated Targeting System (ATS),
SEACATS, Operations Management Reporting (OMR) and ENFORCE data
systems). The data provided is reliable, complete and unbiased and has a margin of
error of +/- 1% to 3% fluctuation based upon the timing differences in the BorderStat
data pull and to the source data mart refresh rates. BorderStat, by design allows
constant monitoring and analyses of various operational metrics so that trends, both
positive and negative, can be quickly brought to the attention of senior CBP
leadership. When examining historical data prior to FY 2008, there will be some
variances from the statistics originally cited due to the fact that these data reside in a
live Information Technology system and will fluctuate as they are updated. To
maintain consistency in reporting, the historical numbers represent seizures that were
reported in the past.

Measure 2: Inspection Narcotics Seizures - Marijuana, in pounds

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

CBP Air and Marine
Office of Border Patrol
Office of Field Operations

134,069
1,347,146
652,800

79,369
1,211,823
48,300

110,781
1,369,602
489,434

308,792
1,859,299
618,046

245,699
1,647,166
579,066

CBP TOTAL

2,134,015

1,339,492

1,969,817

2,786,137

2,471,931

(1) Performance Measures - CBP plays a key role in the overall anti-drug effort at the
border, due primarily to its statutory authority to regulate the movement of people and
commodities between the U.S. and other nations. Drug interdiction is a priority
undertaking encapsulated by CBP's overall mission to secure the nation's borders and
prevent unlawful entry of dangerous people and goods while facilitating the
legitimate flow of travel and trade. CBP's border and border nexus drug interdiction
activities contribute to the National Drug Control Strategy by disrupting the flow of
drugs into the United States. This performance metric focuses on the amounts of
marijuana seized at and between the ports of entry by Border Patrol agents, Air and
Marine Interdiction agents, and CBP officers from passengers, vehicles, commercial
and private aircraft, vessels, trucks, cargo and railcars entering the United States.

(2) Prior Years Performance Targets and Results - In FY 2008, CBP seized a total of
2,471,931 pounds of marijuana, which is an 11% decrease from FY 2007. CBP
reiterates its longstanding opposition to setting drug seizure performance targets and
believes that these targets are misleading and counterproductive. CBP, therefore, did
not provide targets for FY 2008 and will not provide drug interdiction targets for FY
2009.

(3) Current Year Performance Targets - One of CBP's Strategic Goals, "Secure our
Nation's borders to protect America from the entry of dangerous people and goods

and prevent unlawful trade and travel" has as its performance objective "Using a
risk-based approach, deploy and employ the most effective inspection and scanning
technology available at designated land border ports, airports, seaports, permanent
Border Patrol traffic checkpoints, and international areas in which CBP operates to
detect and prevent the entry of hazardous materials, goods, and instruments of terror
into the United States." While drug interdiction is a priority mission, CBP does not
set targets or goals for drug interdiction, as this is an unknown risk revealed only
when discovered. In fact, CBP considers a reduction in drug seizures as a positive
indicator of the efficacy of CBP's deterrence efforts on the border. In this sense, CBP
would report 100% success as appropriate action is taken upon discovery.

(4) Quality of Performance Data - BorderStat is the new CBP system of record for
capturing and reporting on all enforcement and operational statistical data across
CBP's operational components. BorderStat provides CBP-wide operational
awareness capability similar to the ComStat system used by many police departments.
This operational metrics system has been developed to work with CBP's operational
offices: the Office of Field Operations, the Office of Border Patrol, and the Office of
CBP Air and Marine. The operational awareness metrics identified for the BorderStat
represents the core indicators that will be presented to Senior CBP leadership as
frequently as required to maintain operational awareness. BorderStat seizure data
pulls from the following sources (the Automated Targeting System (ATS),
SEACATS, Operations Management Reporting (OMR) and ENFORCE data
systems). The data provided is reliable, complete and unbiased and has a margin of
error of +/- 1% to 3% fluctuation based upon the timing differences in the BorderStat
data pull and to the source data mart refresh rates. BorderStat, by design allows
constant monitoring and analyses of various operational metrics so that trends, both
positive and negative, can be quickly brought to the attention of senior CBP
leadership. When examining historical data prior to FY 2008, there will be some
variances from the statistics originally cited due to the fact that these data reside in a
live Information Technology system and will fluctuate as they are updated. To
maintain consistency in reporting, the historical numbers represent seizures that were
reported in the past.

Measure 3: Inspection Narcotics Seizures - Heroin in pounds

FY 2004

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

CBP Air and Marine

N/A

143

256

Office of Border Patrol

145

187

172

117

Office of Field Operations

2,800

2,500

2,452

2,040

1,876

CBP TOTAL

2,945

2,739

2,767

2,167

2,178

drugs into the United States. This performance metric focuses on the amounts of
heroin seized at and between the ports of entry by Border Patrol agents, Air and
Marine Interdiction agents, and CBP officers from passengers, vehicles, commercial
and private aircraft, vessels, trucks, cargo and railcars entering the United States.

(2) Prior Years Performance Targets and Results - In FY 2008, CBP seized a total of
2,178 pounds of heroin, which means there is no significant change from FY 2007.
CBP reiterates its longstanding opposition to setting drug seizure performance targets
and believes that these targets are misleading and counterproductive. CBP, therefore,
did not provide targets for FY 2008 and will not provide drug interdiction targets for
FY 2009.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC 20229

U.S. Customs and
Border Protection

January 16, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR: RICHARD L SKINNER

INSPECTOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

In compliance with the Drug Control Accounting Circular (the Circular) (May
2007), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) submits its Performance
Summary Report to ONDCP. The report contains the results of CBP
performance in support of the National Drug Control Strategy.

CBP makes the following assertions:

(1) Performance reporting system is appropriate and applied - CBP has a
system to capture performance information accurately and the system was
properly applied to generate the performance data. The source of the
data is the new CBP BorderStat data system. BorderStat pulls data from
disparate sources and is the CBP system of record for capturing and
reporting on all enforcement and operational statistical data across CBP's
operational components. BorderStat is a live information technology
system and, as a result, historical data will fluctuate as they are updated.
To maintain consistency in reporting, the historical numbers represent
seizure data that was previously reported.

(2) Explanations for not meeting performance targets are reasonable based
on the following wording in the guidance, "An Assertion shall be made
regarding reasonableness of any explanation... for revising or eliminating
performance targets."

(3) Adequate performance measures exist for all significant drug control
activities - CBP has established at least one acceptable performance
measure for each Drug Control Decision Unit identified in reports. Each
performance measure considers the intended purpose of the National
Drug Control Program Activity.

FROM:

Acting Director yf*S \S*
Office of Policy and Planning

SUBJECT:

Management's Assertions for U.S. Customs and
Border Protection's Drug Seizure Data

CBP cannot make the following assertion at this time:

(1) Methodology to establish performance targets is reasonable and applied.

CBP reiterates its longstanding opposition to setting drug seizure
performance targets because we believe that these targets are misleading.
We believe that our drug interdiction partners share this view. The
performance measures focus on the amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and
heroin seized at and between the ports of entry by or with the participation of
CBP Officers, Border Patrol Agents, and CBP Air Interdiction Agents.
Performance targets as envisioned by the Circular, however, are likely to
conflict with the CBP counter drug mission to eliminate the trafficking of
drugs. CBP considers a reduction in drug seizures as a positive indicator of
the efficacy of CBP's deterrence efforts on the border. While drug seizures
constitute a component of the mission, seizing drugs is not the ultimate goal.
In fact, as the strategy is implemented and mission effectiveness increased,
the amount of seizures will actually decrease.

Additionally, CBP believes that measuring success by agency seizures
creates a competitive environment leading to less collaborative partnerships,
team work, and sharing of information. Where partnerships do exist, the
results can be mutually beneficial. For instance, CBP cocaine seizures
increased, in part, because the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
shared intelligence from their sensitive sources. In turn, CBP fed DEA the
intelligence gained from those seizures that enabled DEA to better target the
major drug cartels.

Finally, CBP believes that seizure data can be an important tool to measure
results when these metrics are combined with discussion and assessment to
assist with improving operations. Performance targets alone may offer an
incorrect assessment of agency success, particularly if they do not focus on
the correct strategic factors. Setting a target may also give importance to
achieving a numerical goal and imply that agency resources should be
expended towards this end, even if it is not aligned with agency strategies
and goals.

If you have any questions, please have a member of your staff call Mr. Alan Carr
at 202-344-2887.

Report Distribution

Department of Homeland Security

Secretary

Deputy Secretary

Chief of Staff

Deputy Chief of Staff

General Counsel

Executive Secretary

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office

Assistant Secretary for Policy

Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs

Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs

Under Secretary, Management

Chief Financial Officer

Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Acting Director Office of Financial Management

Chief Information Officer

Chief Security Officer

Chief Privacy Officer

Office of National Drug and Control Policy

Associate Director for Planning and Budget

Customs and Border Protection

Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Information Officer

Office of Management and Budget

Chief, Homeland Security Branch
DHS OIG Program Examiner

Congress

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as appropriate

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES

To obtain additional copies of this report, please call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at (202) 254-4199,
fax your request to (202) 254-4305, or visit the OIG web site at www.dhs.gov/oig.

OIG HOTLINE

To report alleged fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement, or any other kind of criminal or noncriminal
misconduct relative to department programs or operations:

• Call our Hotline at 1-800-323-8603;

• Fax the complaint directly to us at (202) 254-4292;

• Email us at DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov; or

• Write to us at:

DHS Office of Inspector General/MAIL STOP 2600,
Attention: Office of Investigations - Hotline,
245 Murray Drive, SW, Building 410,
Washington, DC 20528.

The OIG seeks to protect the identity of each writer and caller.

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "OIG-09-21 - Independent Review of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Reporting of FY 2008 Drug Control Performance Summary Report"

See other formats